The Portland daily press., 1887-07-02
FRAUDULENT RELICS.
How curio Collectors are Cheated
the World over.
New York Tribune.l

lNcM AOih lriDuht.I
Two young women stood in front Of what
appeared to be an elegant bronze statue In a
bric-a-brae store in Broadway. The statue
represented a horse cr0uching ready to
spring, and a half-nude rider clinging 10 his
back. The admiration Of the young women
was boundless, and they exhausted all the
superlatives In giving expression to It, One
of them could not help patting the horses
side, although the sign, "Hands or" was
hanging from his back. She wanted to
touch something that had come from the
workshop Of one Of the old masters. Had
she carefully examined the horses hind
hoof, reasonable doubt would have been
raised as to whether the statue was the
work OF an ancient expert. There was a
piece chipped OFF the hoof, and although IL
was small, a fibre OF grain could be seen in
the material The beautiful figure was not
bronze. 1t was only papier mache and was
made in this city.
while it is not becoming in me-" said the
proprietor OF the store, after the women had
gone out, TO talk about my customers, yet |
can't help 1t sometimes. Why, / have TO
laugh In peoples faces frequently when /
see how easily they are deceived by appear
anees. They make up their minds that
things are genuine because they look so.
This IS why bric-a-brae buyers are so easily
and they win pay four or five prices for
something that suits their fancy. All the
customers are not inclined that way, how
ever. i had an old woman In here this
morning to whom l gave some facts and
drank in my long STORY with wondering eyes
and then offered SO for the glass.
There are some practical people who do
not place any value upon age and assOcia-
tion. They are not fit subjects for the brie-
a. brQQ naoIar Tho hrau fo r.Ntr sl.nft
used to be, and unless you have something
really fine 1t is hard TO get a good price,
Over-producti0n has tiattened the trade. For
every genuine relic Of the olden time there
are hundred limitations. Bric-a-brae from
China and Japan was the rage, and the inn
portatl0ns were heavy until about year
ago. Then the factories in Birmingham and
other places turned the goods out so rapidly
that China and Japan were overstocked.
There was q big run on Japanese brOnzes
They were supposed to be hammered In Ja-
pan, but were really stamped by machinery
in England. Americans like TO be humbug-
ged, and the largest part OF this stuff is sent
here.
style Of every eountry-foils, daggers and
Toledo blades. They are all supposed to be
ancient, but are made in Sheffield. The
world Is full of Damascus blades made in
that enterprlsing town. Here, is real Da-.
mascus blade; II will cut, without sign Of
the Sheffield limitations; There Is little de-
mand for old armor and weapons now.
The deception practieed In ivory goods
would make one believe that there was no
honesty. Beautiful ivory carvings, that are
said TO have been picked up in the ruins of
an ancient city, are moulded from mixture
OF bone dust and gum which takes on high
polish. Acids put on the stain Of age. A
mother-of-pearl Is made from cellul0Id that
would deceive an expert, but it becomes
hrlttlR and brQak9 QagilN Harn Ia an. ola
CANT piece Of cabinet work. See how fine
the lines are. Yet 1t is an imitation made Of
wood and glue, pressed into moulds which
are cut so well that the fine lines Of genuine
carving are brought out clearly. / have
seen this pressed work so tine that even ex-
perts have pronounced IL real.
Genuine ebony Is highly priced, and there
Is good demand for 1t. What Is the use OF
trying to find 1t when an excellent imitation
Is made from beachw0od. The wood Is first
dried, then boiled in nitrate Of iron and soak
ed In l0gwOOd. The weight and shade are
almost perfect. Old clocks that have moon
faces and solve variety of astronomical
problems, and are supposed to have told the
time In some ancient manor. stand In many
Railways to-day and seem to tell the story Of
other days. They are nearly all made in
this city and are hardly old enough TO
tick. When there was a rage for mummy
cases, decorated in the fashion and eOlOrs Of
the time when Egypt was q power among
the nations, more than enough to supply the
demand were made In this wicked town. In
fact. Everything that is worth having In
bric-a-brac is made here, and made we'll"